Chico, Sustainable

The green recycling bin that I wheel out to the curb once every couple weeks is a mystery to me. All "recyclables" get placed in there: paper, #1-7 plastics, steel cans, glass bottles. . .

Then a truck comes by on Tuesday morning and it all "disappears."

Since it is called a "recycling bin" I am led to believe that these items eventually get reprocessed into other useful objects. Like frisbees.

But truthfully, I am in the dark. The truck comes, the truck goes, and what happens next?

I find not knowing this answer to this question quite disturbing and unsettling. Again, I am told that the items get sorted "at the other end," but having not been to this "other end," I have to take their word for it.

From what I have read, I am pretty convinced that the system is pretty good about recycling aluminum cans, glass, and steel cans (soup cans etc.) into items that can be used and recycled over and over again.

Not so for paper and plastic.

The story of paper and cardboard recycling is pretty basic to understand: After 4-6 go arounds the wood fibers that give paper its structure are too pulverized to be used again. But being from a natural source it is compostable.

Plastics, on the other hand, seem to be from the dark side of the force. Just because it has the little recycling symbol next to the number on the bottom doesn't mean that it can be recycled. In fact, in the U.S. only #1, #2, and #6 plastics are actually end up in other products, though these products are not food containers, rather they are items such parking lot bumpers, flower pots, or rug material--items that rarely, if ever, get recycled.

All other plastics end up in the landfill, or in some parts of the country, the incinerator.

It is easy to get overwhelmed with the tidal wave of arguments and counterarguments regarding what type of packaging is best--I know I do. While the paper folks talk about their product being a renewable resource, those trees might be from a plantation in Brazil that was once a diverse rain forest. Plastic enthusiasts will highlight the fact the fact that their product weighs less than other packaging, and thus requires less energy to transport. And on and on. . .

My solution continues to be to follow the tried and true 3-R method:

1) I have tried to reduce my dependence of packaged goods of any sort to the extent that I can, by buying in bulk or using my own mug, bag, or other container as often as possible.

2) I reuse containers as much as possible. For example, I am saving those plastic mesh bags that the Trader Joe's onions come in, as I am hoping they will be ideal nets for the hanging squash and melons that will be part of my space-saving "vertical garden" this summer.

3) I try to recycle what I can, and I try to buy items that are packaged in glass or metal as much as possible. Even though it weighs more and thus require more energy to transport, I feel that if I can source products that are locally made then I am doing pretty good. Also, my gut instinct tell me that future technologies will be able to reduce the energy required to transport items packaged in heavy recycled glass or steel containers more quickly than it will reduce the energy needed to produce plastic packaging from scratch.

A minor side note--I have been told that today's landfills are the gold mines of the future.